HALE COUNTY

County Offices
500 Broadway
Plainview 806-291-5261
http://www.halecounty.org/

Chamber of Commerce
1906 West 5th Street
Plainview 806-296-7431
http://www.plainviewtexaschamber.com/

Situated on the Llano Estacado or High Plains in northwestern Texas, Hale County shares a boundary and a community with Lubbock County on the south. Covering nearly 980 square acres of flat terrain, this region offers fertile sandy and loamy soils and ground water from the vast Ogallala Aquifer that make it ideal for agricultural activity. With a lengthy growing season of 211 days, Hale County produces cotton, corn, soybeans, sorghums, wheat, and vegetables along with beef cattle, swine, and sheep. Related industries include agribusinesses, food processing, and farm equipment manufacturing with major employers in healthcare, education, government, and retail sectors.

Major thoroughfares that serve Hale County include U.S. Highway 87/Interstate 27 running north to south and U.S. Highway 70 west to east. The cosmopolitan resources within the Lubbock metropolitan area are available within a 45-minute drive from most points in Hale County for easy access to a world of additional amenities. While Plainview-Hale County Airport provides general and corporate aviation services, the closest commercial airline service is just outside the Lubbock city limits at Lubbock Preston Smith International Airport.

Services

The city of Plainview is a hub of educational and healthcare resources for Hale County residents, the latter anchored by Covenant Health Plainview. More than 300 medical professionals staff this 100-bed regional hospital dedicated to providing world-class healthcare close to home. Earning more 5-star ratings from Healthgrades than any other local hospital, Covenant Health Plainview specialties include surgery, orthopedics, women’s health, cardiology, outpatient services, and primary care clinics for a full continuum of care. As an active community partner, Covenant allocates 10 percent of the net bottom line to outreach programs. Should the need for more advanced care arise, nearby Lubbock is home to the flagship facilities for Covenant Health in West Texas, Covenant Medical Center and Children’s Hospital, along with a number of Covenant Health specialty centers. Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, the University Medical Center Health System (UMC) in partnership with Texas Tech University, provides a world-class teaching hospital and premier research center that produces nationally recognized innovative technologies and treatment breakthroughs.

Access to first-rate educational opportunities for residents of Hale County starts close to home with progressive local school districts, a community college center, and a private university. Select technical programs, transfer courses, and workforce development are all available at the South Plains College Plainview Center. The city of Plainview is also home to the flagship campus for the private Christian college of Wayland Baptist University. Offering more than 65 undergraduate and graduate programs, Wayland Baptist University draws students to a personalized educational environment where the student/teacher ratio averages 17:1. The crown jewel of the West Texas educational community is available within an easy commute from Hale County in the city of Lubbock. Recognized as a Tier One Carnegie Designated University, Texas Tech University maintains preeminent research partnerships in a variety of areas including sustainable energy, wind power, crop science, and food safety. Students can choose from 150 undergraduate majors, 100 master programs, and 50 doctoral programs in 13 colleges that include a school of law, a medical school, and Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center. Lubbock is also home to Lubbock Christian University, recognized by U.S. News & World Report as a Top 20 Comprehensive College in the Western Region.  

Lifestyle

Cultural enrichment can be found just beyond the front doorstep in Hale County, where the presence of Wayland Baptist University hosts several renowned venues. The Museum of the Llano Estacado Museum in the Mabee Regional Heritage Center showcases the region’s geological and social history, while the adjacent Jimmy Dean Museum chronicles the life of the late sausage entrepreneur and entertainer who grew up in Plainview. The university campus also draws audiences to its primary performance center, the 1,265-seat Harral Memorial Auditorium. Booking more than 350 events each year, this venue is ideal for performances, concerts, guest appearances, and special events. Downtown Plainview adds another jewel to the cultural scene with Fair Theatre, an elegant 1920s venue restored to its former grandeur to host plays, musicals, films, special events, and Plainview Symphony Orchestra concerts. Hale County takes pride in having one of the smallest cities in Texas with a professional symphony—one that blends local talent with musicians from regional universities and communities.

The city of Plainview also serves as a center for recreational amenities for Hale County residents, where 16 developed parks cover 286 acres of developed land and 325 acres of natural environment. Amenities include baseball fields, basketball courts, soccer and softball fields, multipurpose courts for sports play, disc golf, a driving range, hiking and biking trail, walking tracks, playgrounds, a tree nursery, and a scenic waterfall. One of the area’s unique venues is Plainview County Club (PCC), developed as a private-public partnership. Operating as a private club, PCC offers member access to an 18-hole championship golf course, swimming pool, large ballroom, lounge, restaurant and meeting rooms. At the same time, the golf course functions as a city of Plainview municipal course with public access. Unger Memorial Library also serves as a lively recreational and social center for Hale County residents, creating year-round opportunities for the community to connect, learn, share, succeed, and thrive. From a surprising list of local advantages and attractive, affordable homes to a world of cosmopolitan amenities in nearby Lubbock, Hale County is a great place to call home in West Texas.

 

COMMUNITIES

Abernathy

Municipal Offices
806-298-2546
https://www.cityofabernathy.org/

Chamber of Commerce
806-761-7000
http://www.lubbockchamber.com/

The welcoming city of Abernathy is ideally located along Interstate Highway 27 and U.S. Highway 87 just 18 miles north of the bustling metropolitan center of Lubbock. The city straddles two counties, Lubbock and Hale, the latter portion encompassed within the Plainview Micropolitan Statistical Area. With an economy based on agribusiness and trade, the city offers the open feeling and friendliness a small country town in close proximity to a world of urban amenities. Often characterized as a bedroom community for Lubbock, the city supports good schools and local businesses for a close-knit atmosphere where neighbors become friends and shop owners greet customers by name. With world-class education and expanded employment opportunities nearby, many second-generation residents who grew up in Abernathy are returning “home” to raise their families. One of the hallmarks of Abernathy is the enthusiasm for Old Glory and the annual Fourth of July festivities where the parade includes everything from antique tractors to kids on bicycles.

 

Hale Center

Municipal Offices
806-839-2411
http://www.cityofhalecenter.com/

Chamber of Commerce
806-296-7431
http://www.plainviewtexaschamber.com/

Situated at the intersection of Interstate 27 and Farm Road 1914, the picturesque agricultural community of Hale Center appropriately identifies itself as the “Oasis of the Plains.” The remarkable spirit and sense of pride that local residents have in their hometown is beautifully displayed in the colorful historical murals that appear in 18 different locations throughout Hale Center—each one the work of resident artisans. One of the tourist attractions in West Texas is also located in this small city. Showcasing a restored 1911 Santa Fe Depot, a 1907 farmhouse, and other historic structures, the Hale County Farm and Ranch Museum preserves and interprets artifacts from the early days of Texas railroading, farming, and ranching. Collections include restored antique tractors, vintage farm equipment, and pedal cars. Hale Center residents enjoy the open country feeling and close-knit atmosphere of a small rural community just minutes from expanded services and amenities in Plainview.

 

Plainview

Municipal Offices
806-296-1100
https://www.plainviewtx.org/

Chamber of Commerce
806-296-7431
http://www.plainviewtexaschamber.com/

The city of Plainview combines the caring spirit of a small town with a progressive attitude and level of services, amenities, and local business activity associated with a larger city. Plainview provides a center of county government, healthcare, education, commerce, and recreation for Hale County residents and those in surrounding rural communities. Distinguished as one of the first Texas cities to launch a Main Street program, Plainview joins more than 85 other Main Street cities across the state that work to promote, beautify, and revitalize their downtown districts. One of the points of local pride is the Centennial Circle of Honor, a landmark that pays tribute to Plainview’s leaders from the past 100 years and hopes to inspire the leaders of the next 100 years. The city is home to the region’s only full-service hospital and an array of additional healthcare resources, a center for South Plains College, and the flagship campus for Wayland Baptist University. Recreational amenities are well developed and neighborhoods offer a variety of home styles in settings dominated by an open, suburban feeling.